All Monterey County high school students were invited

to a national discussion regarding the Dust Bowl and the environment at the National Steinbeck Center.

Only about 90 attended.

Monterey County was invited as part of the National Youth Summit, a discussion led by the Smithsonian Institution. Organizers believe poor participation could be owed to transportation issues. It could have been students are taking yet another exam this week. It could have been lack of communication.

For whatever reason, it was sad to think local students were missing out in a great opportunity to deepen their knowledge of history. An opportunity to make it relevant to their lives, a glimpse into what they could do to get involved. An opportunity to look at the Salinas Valley in a national, global context.

I often hear adults talk about how students learn better when the content is relevant. This was relevant. This is history directly linked to the present. This is our environment, our agriculture, our land, our future.

And there were so few of us there to see it.